P&P - CH. 21-1

Elizabeth: “‘Miss Bingley sees that her brother is in love with you, and wants him to marry Miss Darcy. She follows him to town in the hope of keeping him there, and tries to persuade you that he does not care about you’”
Jane: “‘If we thought alike of Miss Bingley,’ replied Jane, ‘your representation of all this, might make me quite easy But I know the foundation is unjust. Caroline is incapable of willfully deceiving anyone’” (91).

In this conversation between Jane & Elizabeth, we see that the tables have turned. In the previous chapters, Jane attempted to open Elizabeth’s eyes and make her realize that Mr. Wickham is not as pleasing as she thinks. Instead of taking her suggestions into consideration, Elizabeth immediately refutes them based on her affection for Mr. Wickham and her hatred for Darcy. Nevertheless, Elizabeth comes to a conclusion solely based on emotions. We see the same exact quality in Jane during this conversation. Jane is blinded by her overwhelming love and affection for Bingley that she fails to see the cunning demeanor of Caroline.

“‘I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connections, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair, as most people can boast on entering the marriage state’”(96).

This is a perfectly clear example of a mercenary marriage. It is not a marriage based on love or even practical common sense but a marriage conducted to benefit Charlotte. The concept of matrimony and love mean nothing to Charlotte and on page 94, her feelings about marriage are revealed: “without thinking highly either of men or of matrimony, marriage had always been her object; it was the only honourable provision for well-educated young women of small fortune”. Charlotte thinks the exact same way society forces most women of her class to think and she has no choice but to conform to it. She also admits that she is not very good looking, thus finding a genuine mate would prove to be a difficult task.